Apparatus for manufacturing resin tubes alternately having a thick wall portion and a thin wall portion

ABSTRACT

Resin tubes having thick walled portions and thin walled portions are formed by providing a specially configured orifice on an extruder and varying the rate at which the extruded resin tube is pulled from the extruder. The orifice is shaped to form a thin tubular opening and a thick tubular opening communicating with one another, the thick tubular opening being adjacent and down-stream of the thin opening. When the extruded resin tube is pulled at a high speed the thin tubular opening is filled with resin that passes through but does not fill the thick tubular opening. At the slow pulling speed the resin fills at least the open-end portion of the thick tubular opening thereby forming a thick walled portion of the resin tube.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 616,525, filedSept. 24, 1975, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,930.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing resin tubesalternately having a thick wall portion and a thin wall portion.

Generally, an extrusion molding process is employed to manufacture resintubes. This extrusion molding process comprises providing an orifice atthe tip of an extruding machine, forming a tubular opening at theextreme end of the orifice, extruding resin through said opening to formit into a tubular member, and pulling or taking out the molded tubularresin to manufacture a resin tube.

Conventionally there is employed an extruding machine of the type inwhich one or more screws are rotated within a barrel and the moltenresin is mixed while molten by the screw which is designed so as toextrude the resin at a substantially uniform speed. In such an extrudingmachine there is used an orifice in which an opening width is formed tobe substantially uniform along the axis of flow in order to provide acontour as desired. It is therefore difficult for such apparatus tomanufacture resin tubes having a thick wall portion and a thin wallportion.

Extruding machines may extrude resin at substantially a uniform speed,but strictly speaking, the extrusion speed of the extruding machines isnot always constant due to various causes. In normal extrusionoperation, therefore, the pulling or take-up speed has not always beenmade constant but has been varied responsive to variation of extrusionspeeds. Taking advantage of the fact as noted above, it may readily beconceived that in normal extruding operation, the take-up speed isperiodically varied to thereby alternately form a thick wall portion anda thin wall portion along the axial direction of a tube.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 24143/1974 describes an attempt tomanufacture resin tubes with thick and thin wall portions in accordancewith the above mentioned principles. However, satisfactory resin tubeshave not been obtained with the use of orifices as disclosed in FIGS. 1and 2 of said patent. The orifice shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of said patentis formed with an opening corresponding to the thin wall portion of theresin tube, and the resin tube emerged from the orifice is externallycontrolled in its outside diameter. However the system of the latterpatent results in buckling of the walls of the tube. As the tube ispulled it passes immediately into an outside diameter control devicewhich acts to harden the external surface. However as a result of thereactive force in the axial direction caused by the pressure of theresin extruder and the force in the opposite direction caused by slowingthe pulling speed, the tube will buckle. Also the physical properties ofthe tube are degraded by residual strain due to the different flowingspeeds of the resin at the internal and external surfaces which arecaused by the quick hardening of the external surface. For this reason,further improvements are necessary to manufacture resin tubes of theaforementioned kind by conventional extruding machiens as describedabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention the orifice, which is the typehaving an inner die forming a tubular opening, is cut off at the resindischarge end and a large-width tubular opening is provided. That is, inthe orifice, the newly formed large-width tubular opening assumes aposition at the tip of the opening thereby forming two stages of openingcomprising a large-width opening and a small-width opening.

In forming resin tubes using the aforementioned orifice, an outsidediameter control device is mounted in contact with the orifice, and thetake-up speed for pulling resin tubes extruded from the orifice isvaried in at least two stages comprising a high speed and a low speed.When the tube is pulled at a high speed, the resin is molded by thesmall-width tubular opening. That is, when the tube is pulled at a highspeed, the large-width opening is not filled with resin. On the otherhand, when the tube is pulled at a low speed, at least the open-endportion of the large-width opening is filled with resin, and the resinis thus molded into a tube by the large-width opening. In this manner, aresin tube has been produced in which the thick wall portion and thinwall portion thereof are alternately positioned in the lengthwisedirection, said thick wall portion being in substantial registrationwith the large-width tubular opening, said thin wall portion being insubstantial registration with the small-width tubular opening, and eachof the thick wall portion and the thin wall portion having a uniformthickness, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration in cross-section showing oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a graphic representation showing variation of the pullingspeeds of a pulling machine in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are partially cutaway cross-sectional views of a resintube obtained in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are graphic representations showing a preferable form ofvariation of the pulling speeds of the pulling machine according to theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration in cross-section showing anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8a and 8b are partially cutaway sectional views showing subsequentoptional operations on a resin tube obtained by the invention.

FIGS. 9a-9d are partially cutaway sectional views of various orificesused in the invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of another orifice used in the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway sectional view schematically illustratingthe present invention. In FIG. 1, there is shown an orifice, whichcomprises an outer die 1 and an inner die 2, the inner die being fixedlypositioned within the outer die to form a tubular opening therebetween.The inner die 2 is cut at 21 on the resin discharge side of the orificeto form two tubular openings. These two openings consist of asmall-width tubular opening A and a large-width tubular opening B. Thesmall-width opening A is positioned in the inner part of the orificewhile the large-width opening B is positioned at the discharge portionof the orifice.

The outer die 1 is separated from an outside diameter control device 3by a washer 8. The outside diameter control device 3 is cylindrical andhas an inside diameter which is approximately equal to the insidediameter of outer die 1. In this way, a resin tube emerging from theorifice is passed into the device 3 without having the outer surface ofthe resin tube brought into contact with the atmosphere. The device 3includes a cavity 31, through which cooling water is circulated to coolthe resin tube. The device 3 also has annular grooves 4 formed in aninternal surface thereof and in communication with a pressure reducingpipe through which air is discharged. This results in a partial vacuumcausing the resin tube to come into close contact with the internalsurface of the device 3. In this manner, the external surface of theresin tube may be controlled by the device 3.

The resin tube which emerges from device 3 enters a water vessel 5, inwhich cooling water is stored, so that the external surface thereof iscooled by the cooling water. The resin tube is cooled to such a degreethat it maintains its shape when subsequently pulled by means of atake-up or pulling machine 6. The take-up machine 6 comprises, forexample, a pair of endless belts or rollers, which pull the resin tubeby holding it between the rotating belts or rollers. The rotation of thebelts or rollers may suitably be adjusted by an instrument housed in acontrol box 7.

The rotation of the take-up machine 6 may be controlled to have at leasttwo stages. That is, the machine 6 is, in one case, rotated in adirection as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 at a high speed V₁ and inthe other case, rotated in the same direction at low speed V₂. The highspeed V₁ is within a range such that the small-width tubular opening Ais filled with resin within the orifice but the large-width tubularopening B is not filled. In this manner, the resin discharged throughthe orifice is exclusively controlled by the small-width opening A tothereby form a resin tube having a thin wall (t). On the other hand, thelow speed V₂ is within a range such that the large-width tubular openingB is filled with resin within the orifice, or at least the open-endportion of the tubular opening B is filled therewith. In this manner,the resin discharged through the orifice is exclusively controlled bythe large-width opening B to thereby form a resin tube having a thickwall (T). Thus, the rotational speed of take-up machine 6 is controlledat least in a manner of high and low stages to alternately repeatoperation of high speed take-up and low speed take-up, whereby theresulting resin tube has alternately formed thin and thick wallportions.

Desired speeds for obtaining the thick and thin walled portions may beeasily determined by simple trial and error, or may be easilycalculated. Because of the fact that an extruding machine extrudes asubstantially predetermined quantity of resin per hour and thecross-sectional area of the small-width opening A is known, atheoretical value of the high speed V₁ can roughly be calculated.Similarly, a theoretical value of the low speed V₂ may be figured outfrom the cross-sectional area of the large-width opening B. Accordingly,the take-up speed can simply be controlled according to the theoreticalvalues. Alternatively, there is provided another method in which aninside diameter measuring device for the resin tube extruded is mountedat the tip of inner die in the orifice so as to detect the insidediameter of the resin tube, whereby the wall thickness of the resin tubemay be checked and the take-up speed of the take-up machine 6 may alsobe controlled to suit the thickness as described.

If the take-up speed is changed directly from V₁ to V₂ as shown in FIG.2, the thickness of resin tube obtained is varied very slowly, as shownin FIG. 3. The transition from the thin wall (t) to the thick wall (T)takes place gradually to provide a relatively long distance betweenpoints (b) and (c). However, it is desirable that the transition takesplace rapidly to provide a short distance, such as that shown betweenpoints (g) and (h) in FIG. 4. Generally, the greater the difference ofwidth between the openings B and A, the greater the distance betweenpoints b and c in FIG. 3. Conversely, when transition from the thickwall (T) to the thin wall (t) takes place, variation thereof occurs veryrapidly as shown at (e) in FIG. 3. Thus, substantially equal transitionportions, g-h and i-j, as shown in FIG. 4 cannot be achieved withoutemploying some additional technique. On such technique is to provideseveral stages in addition to the high speed V₁ and the low speed V₂.For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the speed is shifted from the highspeed V₁ to the low speed V₂, a lower speed V₃ is first employed. Thiscauses the large width opening to fill faster. Also, when the speed isshifted from the low speed V₂ to the high speed V.sub. 1, a higher speedV₀ is employed first as shown. In this manner, a resin tube formed witha predetermined inclination may be obtained, as shown in FIG. 4,regardless of whether the change is from thin wall to thick wall or viceversa.

In actual use it is preferable to further subdivide the speeds V₃ and V₀into several stages as shown in FIG. 6. As shown there, the lowest speedV₃ is divided into four stages V₃₁ through V₃₄. Also, in order to changethe speed from the low speed V₂ to the high speed V₁, the speed ischanged from V₀₁ up to V₀₃ through V₀₂ and rapidly dropped from V₀₃ toV₁, resulting in a state wherein the speed is elevated from the lowspeed V₂ to the high speed V₁.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the inner die 2 side is cut atthe tip of the orifice to form the large-width tubular opening Bthereat. However, the die whose side is cut to provide the large-widthtubular opening B is not limited to the inner die 2. The large-widthtubular opening B may also be formed by cutting the tip 11 of the outerdie 1 as shown in FIG. 7. In this case, an externally raised thickportion is formed. In this case, therefore, the inside diameter controldevice 3 for a resin tube is positioned adjacent the orifice. Similarlyto the case as illustrated in FIG. 1, the inside diameter control device3 has the grooves 4 formed externally thereof to intake airtherethrough, and a coolant is circulated internally of the device 3.Also, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the resin tube has its insidediameter controlled by the device 3, cooled in the water vessel 5, andpulled by the take-up machine 6 at different speeds such as the highspeed V₁ and low speed V₂. In this manner, a resin tube severallyprovided with externally raised thick portions may be obtained.

Resin tubes obtained by the apparatus according to the present inventionare suitable for use as follows: For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a),the resin tube is cut off so that the thick wall portion thereof mayassume the extreme end position, and the thick wall portion is heated tobe softened to enlarge the inside diameter thereof and to place thereina connecting sleeve as shown in FIG. 8 (b). With this arrangement, theresin tubes obtained by the present invention possess variousadvantages. In conventional resin tubes having the same thicknessthroughout the length thereof, if the inside diameter of a tube isenlarged, the enlarged portion becomes thin to thereby reduce thestrength of the enlarged portion, whereas in those resin tubes obtainedby the present invention, the resin tubes are originally thick so thatthe strength reduction thereof is minimized. Accordingly, the resintubes obtained by the present invention are suitable for providing anenlarged inside diameter portion used for connecting tubes with eachother. Also, the resin tubes of the invention are suited for use whereinthe thick wall portion is heated to be softened, to which a flange isattached.

A significant feature of this invention resides in the provision of thelarge-width tubular opening B in addition to the small-width tubularopening A at the tip of the orifice. The details of these openings A andB will be supplemented in the following description.

As previously described, either outer die 1 or inner die 2 may be cut toform the large-width tubular opening B at the nose of the small-widthtubular opening A within the orifice. In the illustrated embodiment, theshape of the cut-off portion appears in the form of a rectangle in crosssection. However, the shape of the cut-off portion is not limited torectangular. For example, it may also be designed, as shown in FIG. 9(a), that the tip of the inner die 2 is cut into a triangle incross-section so that the inner wall surface of the large-width tubularopening is inclined. Similarly, the tip of the outer die 1 may be cutinto a triangle in section as shown in FIG. 9 (b), so that the outerwall surface of the large-width tubular opening B may be inclined. Itmay further be designed, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), so that both the outerdie 1 and inner die 2 are cut so that both the inner and outer wallsurfaces of the large-width tubular opening B are inclined so as to havea wider tip. Also both the inner and outer dies may be cut into arectangular cross-section, as shown in FIG. 9 (d).

The relation in size between the small-width tubular opening A and thelarge-width tubular opening B is preferably determined in a manner asnoted below.

Generally stated, the orifice used for manufacturing a resin tube isdesigned so that, as shown in FIG. 10, the inner die 2 is positionedwithin the outer die 1, and the resultant elements are fixed to eachother by a bridge 9 to form tubular openings between the dies. Thetubular openings may sometimes be bent within the orifice, but normallyhave substantially the same width in the vicinity of the resin dischargeend. Positioned at the tip of the small width opening A is thelarge-width tubular opening B.

The width of the opening B is represented by Y, and the length of theopening B along the flow of resin is represented by n. Preferably, thelength n is slightly shorter than the length of a shoulder portion ofthe resin tube from the thin wall portion toward the thick wall portion.Preferably, the width Y is nearly equal to the thickness T of the thickwall portion in a resin tube to be obtained.

All resins having a thermoplastic property can be used in themanufacture of tubes according to the present invention. The preferredresins are rigid vinyl chloride resin.

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in theart that various changes and modifications can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for manufacturing resin tubesalternately having a thick wall portion and a thin wall portion in thesame tube, and comprising: a fixed inner die and a fixed outer dietogether forming an orifice at the tip of an extruding machine of thetype which extrudes resin at substantially a uniform speed; said orificedefining a fixed tubular opening at the extreme end of the extrudingmachine for forming said resin into a tube-like member, said tubularopening being divided into at least two stages along the direction ofmovement of said resin, one of said stages being a fixed small-widthopening portion in the resin inlet part of said orifice and the secondof said stages being a fixed large-width opening portion at the resinoutlet part of said orifice, said large-width opening porion having anend portion open to the orifice; diameter control means in close contactwith said tip surface for controlling one of the outside and insidediameters of the resin tube to be extruded; and pulling means,downstream of said orifice, for pulling said resin at high and lowspeeds respectively to cause said resin being extruded to fill only saidsmall-width opening at said high speed and to fill both said small-widthopening and at least the open end portion of the large-width opening atsaid low speed.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pullingmeans further comprises means for pulling said resin at change overspeeds between said high and low speeds, said change over speeds whengoing from said low speed to said high speed being higher than said highspeed and being carried out in steps which increase the speed and thendrop the speed down to said high speed, and said change over speeds whengoing from said high speed to said low speed being lower than said lowspeed and being carried out in steps increasing the speed up to said lowspeed.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means isoperatively associated with said inner die for controlling the insidediameter of the tube-like member and the outer die is cut to providesaid large-width opening portion, whereby tube-like members havingexternally raised thick portions are obtained.
 4. Apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein said control means is operatively associated withsaid outer die for controlling the outer diameter of the tube-likemember and the inner die is cut to provide said large-width openingportion, whereby tube-like members having internally raised thickportions are obtained.